With things looking up and sunny days on the horizon, we’ve put together another edition of our ‘what’s on’ guide for the city of Manchester and beyond.
Some of the events we’re going to mention here are completely free, others will set you back a few pounds, and most will need to be booked in advance – but all are COVID-secure in order to keep you as safe as possible.
Here’s a few of our top picks.
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RHS Garden Bridgewater
Salford
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Monday 31 May – onwards
RHS Garden Bridgewater
Did you see the RHS Garden Bridgewater has finally opened to the public?
As many Greater Manchester residents will know, the opening of the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) newest £44 million garden attraction – which is located off Leigh Road in Worsley – has been delayed on a number of occasions due to ongoing restrictions amid the pandemic, but now it’s been revealed that visitors will be welcomed for the first time in May.
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The 154-acre garden at the former Worsley New Hall estate is the biggest hands-on horticultural project undertaken in Europe since planning permission was granted in 2017.
It will be the first-ever RHS Garden located in an urban area.
You can find more information and grab tickets ahead of the grand reopening here.
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Box on the Docks
MediaCityUK
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Monday 7 June – onwards
Box on the Docks
MediaCityUK’s popular outdoor dining concept Box on the Docks (BOTD) is welcoming customers back to its waterside ‘pods’ this week, with the collection of 30 sheds and greenhouses having undergone renovation from local artists.
An exciting range of residents are moving into the neighbourhood for the summer, along with beloved local eateries from across the region such as Grandad’s Sausages, I Knead Pizza, Bada Bing Deli and Batard Bakery.
You can find more information about Box on the Docks 2021 here.
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Electric Gamebox
Manchester Arndale
Monday 7 June – onwards
Electric Gamebox – the immersive group gaming experience that lets players transport themselves into another reality – has reopened its doors at Manchester Arndale, with a choice of five exhilarating immersive games lasting between 30-60 minutes.
After months stuck at home, Electric Gamebox delivers a truly interactive experience that the whole group can get involved in.
The games take place within a futuristic ‘Gamebox’ – a room that uses projection mapping, touch screens, surround sound and motion tracking technology. Working together in groups of between 2-6, the high-energy entertainment experience requires no heavy wearables or equipment, just a cool visor given upon arrival.
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You can find more information, and book your tickets here.
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Snorkel with Sharks
SEA LIFE Manchester
Monday 7 – Sunday 13 June
SEA LIFE Manchester
SEA LIFE Manchester has launched a brand new snorkel cage experience that’s letting people get closer than ever have before to more than 1,000 creatures of the deep at the Trafford Centre-based marine life aquarium.
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Snorkel with Sharks is a one-hour surface snorkelling adventure, suitable for swimmers age 10+ and includes a full briefing, introduction to the incredible creatures you can expect to see, and 20 minutes snorkelling in the purpose-built shark cage.
Tickets cost £40 per person, and the session can be booked for two to four people from the same household or bubble.
You can find more information and book your tickets here.
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Homeground by HOME
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Tuesday 8 – Saturday 26 June
HOME
Being billed as one of the most exciting and inventive Shakespeare productions of recent years, with rave reviews coming in fast, this is your chance to experience a riotous version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream reimagined as part of our HOME MCR’s summer programme at the brand-new, festival-style outdoor events hub, Homeground.
Suitable for ages 12+ and featuring live music, young lovers and warring fairies cross paths in this irreverent adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays.
You can find more information and book your tickets here.
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Top Secret
Science and Industry Museum
Wednesday 2 June – 31 August
Science and Industry Museum
Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cybersecurity will pore over a century’s worth of secret communications and intelligence in an exhibition containing over 100 objects from GCHQ and the Science Museum Group.
The exhibition will include, for the first time, objects related to Alan Turing and his team’s work intercepting German comms at Bletchley Park.
Visitors can also explore how Britain protected its skies during WWI, how codes were cracked in WWII, and the ways in which intelligence agencies foiled one of the most successful spy rings operating during the Cold War.
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The exhibition will also explore modern digital security – considering recent examples of major cyber hacks such as the WannaCry attack on the NHS.
Park N Party – the team that delivered both the sell-out successes of ScareCity, ChristmasCity and a number of other outdoor live events throughout 2020 – has launched a new venture titled SecretCity, and there’s a whole host of immersive drive-in entertainment events happening this week.
There’s screenings of scary cinema favourites including Insidious, Annabelle, Goosebumps, The Nun and more all on show throughout the week.
Tickets must be booked in advance, and you can grab yours from £35 per car here.
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mjf @ Escape to Freight Island
Depot Mayfield
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Saturday 11 – Sunday 13 June
mjf @ Escape to Freight Island
Manchester Jazz Festival is bringing three days of music right to Escape to Freight Island at Depot Mayfield this weekend.
The team behind the region’s longest-running music festival will bring the very best in contemporary jazz to three stages – ‘The Ticket Hall’, ‘The Round’ and ‘The Pavilion’ – at the highly-popular Piccadilly venue this June.
A selection of street food and open-air bars will complete the festival vibe.
The event will be free to access, and audiences can book tables across the venue throughout each day of the extended weekend.
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You can book your tickets for mjf @ Escape to Freight Islandhere.
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Vegan & Ethical Markets
Victoria Baths
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 June
Victoria Baths
Manchester’s Victoria Baths is gearing up to host its first-ever ethical and sustainable markets this weekend.
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The markets will boast a range of sustainable and ethical stands selling food treats, home crafts, sustainable household creations, recycled jewellery, and more.
Vegan & Ethical Markets are taking place from 11am – 8pm on both Saturday and Sunday, with entry setting you back £4, or free for ‘Friends of Victoria Baths’ and under 16s, and booking in advance required via the website, with entrance staggered in order to maintain social distancing.
All money raised by the event will go towards the upkeep of the building, and you can find more information here.
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Manchester Cheese Crawl
Central Manchester
Saturday 12 June
Geograph / Ian S | Northern Soul Grilled Cheese
The Manchester Cheese Crawl is two hours of non-stop cheese-related fun, including everything from blue cheese tasting, to cheese quizzes, competitions and more.
Starting off in St Ann’s Square, the tour wanders across the city and gives you the chance to try the finest cheeses Manchester has to offer along the way.
With tours taking place every Saturday until September 25, tickets cost just £25 each and include cheese samples, optional bread and crackers, and some red wine to complement.
The OT Art Trail – which has been organised by OT Creative Space and is funded by Arts Council England – sees a number of local artists work together with members of the Manchester community to create six individual large scale murals which have been painted onto walls and building gable ends around the area, including in Seymour Park and Ayres Road.
The new murals have added to murals and artwork already seen around Old Trafford.
The several new street art sites will be linked together via a downloadable audio tour, which is suitable for people of all ages.
Each mural centres around the theme ‘community togetherness and diversity’.
You can find more information on The OT Art Trail via the OT creative SPACE website here.
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Totally Roarsome
Mottram Hall
Monday 7 – Sunday 13 June
Totally Roarsome
Totally Roarsome took the region by storm last summer after it opened to the public following the initial lifting of lockdown restrictions in mid-2020, with visitors flocking from far and wide.
Now at the new location of Mottram Hall, just over the border into Cheshire, Totally Roarsome features everything from dinosaurs, jungle animals and Arctic creatures, to superheroes, pirates and cartoon characters.
Tickets are priced at £7.95 per ticket (+ £1.50 booking fee, per transaction), and must be booked in advance online from the Totally Roarsome Facebook page.
You can find out more information, and book your tickets here.
What's On
Alex Warren at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Singer-songwriter and social media star Alex Warren is visiting Co-op Live, Manchester, for two nights of out of the ‘Ordinary’ live music.
One of the founding members of the TikTok group, the ‘Hype House’, which also included fellow pop performer Addison Rae, Warren has gone on to receive global recognition for his contributions to music.
Born in California, it’s no surprise his music has managed to catapult into the mainstream as he’s been mastering content creation since he was 10 on YouTube.
His music journey began back in 2021, when he released music as an independent artist in 2021 before signing a record deal one year later, dropping the chart-topping ‘Ordinary’ in 2025.
Now, Alex Warren prepares for his biggest UK tour to date, and he’s playing two shows right here in Manchester at the 23,500 seater Co-op Live in April and May.
Gig guide | Alex Warren at Co-op Live, Manchester – all you need to know
Alex Warren is visiting Manchester at Co-op Live on 27 April and 4 May / Credit: Press Shots (supplied)
Alex Warren UK tour dates
Fri 24 April – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 26 April – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Mon 27 April – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Wed 29 April – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
Thu 30 April – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
Sat 2 May – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena
Mon 4 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Wed 6 May – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
Thu 7 May – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
Are there tickets left for Alex Warren at Co-op Live?
If you’re looking for somebody to ‘Save You a Seat’, look no further as you can get tickets to Alex Warren’s 27 April at Co-op Live HERE.
And don’t find yourself in ‘Troubled Waters’, make sure you grab tickets for Alex Warren at Co-op Live on 4 May HERE.
Stage times for Alex Warren at Co-op Live, Manchester
Warren has built a cult following thanks to chart-topping hits like ‘Ordinary’ (Credit: Press shots)
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning you can still get home without ‘Chasing Shadows’.
Supporting Alex Warren on the night will be Claire Rosinkranz, a singer-songwriter from California with tracks like ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Backyard Boy’.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Yungblud channels a bit of magic that’d make Ozzy proud on huge headline night in Manchester
Danny Jones
A darkened arena erupts into life as Yungblud storms the AO Arena main stage for his biggest Manchester show to date.
He flickers across the giant screens, projected against a curtain that stretches the full width of the AO Arena. Then that unmistakable Doncaster drawl cuts through the noise, urging the audience to make some noise (even more of it), and they oblige – gladly.
When the lights come up, a barrage of lights flickers, pyrotechnics explode, and chaos ensues. Manchester crowds are no strangers to Yungblud; he’s a livewire performer with seemingly endless energy, a proclivity for raw emotion, and a fiercely loyal fanbase: the self-proclaimed ‘Black Hearts Club’.
Dressed in a grungy pair of Chrome Hearts leather trousers, a leopard-print waistcoat and sunglasses so thick he could look directly at the sun with no issues, he tears straight into the opening track (Hello Heaven, Hello) with barely a second to breathe.
He then pauses – hands extended to the crowd, a cheeky grin – and bang: confetti fills the room.
If previous Manchester shows hinted at his stamina, this one confirms it. The scale may be bigger, but the intensity hasn’t dipped. The floor quickly becomes a sea of movement, with mosh pits swelling and collapsing in waves, sending bodies ricocheting across the arena.
It’s the kind of gig where you’re never quite safe from getting drenched either – water cups are less for drinking and more for launching, with sprays arcing out over the front rows like some kind of punk rock baptism of fire. So many flames.
The audience was on the ball; at one point, Yungblud’s comb was hurled into the crowd. Showgoers in the area tussled over the item for a minute before returning to the mayhem unfolding around them.
Part conductor, part chaos agent, part mic-wielding cowboy, he commands the room with ease. The mic stand, placed in front of him between each song by the production team, is repeatedly cast to the back of the stage, and he flails the mic above his head on more than one occasion – always catching it again before it can strike anyone else. It’s reckless, but never careless.
Because beneath the sweat and noise, there’s something more deliberate at play. His speeches on identity, equality, belonging and mental health feel less like interludes and more like the backbone of the entire night.
This isn’t just performance: it’s a space he’s actively shaping, one where thousands feel seen. Towards the back end of the set, he invites the whole crowd to look left and right and tell each other how much they f***ing love one another.
Tracks like ‘Loner’, ‘Lowlife’ and ‘Zombie’ land with particular weight, their messages amplified by a crowd that knows every word. At one point, the lights swing out over the audience, and for a moment the focus shifts – not just to the performer, but to the community he’s built.
With a touching tribute to the late, great Ozzy Osbourne, Yungblud is visibly emotional, with tears in his eyes for his dearly departed friend. And if the ringing in my ears is anything to go by, I’m pretty sure Ozzy heard it and was looking down with pride.
If you haven’t guessed by now, Yungblud knows how to command a room, but things definitely took a turn when he invited a member of the crowd on stage.
Holding a poster that read something along the lines of “I can play guitar”, she was brought up and proceeded to absolutely bring the house down, performing alongside him for a song. Daisy, hats off – you absolutely SMASHED it.
Congratulations are in order as well to the happy couple who got engaged at the gig. We really hope your first dance is to a Yungblud track.
Even in a venue of this size, he moves like he’s trying to outpace it; sprinting, leaping, barely standing still long enough to catch a breath. It’s hard not to feel like this is still just a stepping stone. Because if he can command a room like this with such force, it’s not a stretch to imagine Yungblud scaling even bigger stages before long.
Loud, relentless and emotionally charged, this wasn’t just a gig, it was a statement – a place to escape the struggles of day-to-day life and bolster an ever-growing community built on all the right things: acceptance, harmony, and just a little bit of chaos. In short, he’s welcome back anytime.
Emily Sergeant -
4th June 2021 
